VALDOSTA — It may be procrastination. It may be because they owe money to the state or federal government, or both. Or it may be because they’re waiting for all the right paperwork to come in.

Whatever the reason, a typical heavy flow of customer traffic is filing into local tax preparation offices as the Tuesday, April 17, deadline for filing income tax returns rapidly approaches. (See information below on why the deadline in April 17 this year.)

The usual extra customer traffic has some tax preparers locking down their appointment books until after the tax filing deadline passes.

“My business is crazy,” said Janet Lewis Douglass, owner of Lewis Tax Service at 3324 Bemiss Road. “I have been booked up since the third or fourth week of March. My three-person staff includes me. I had to stop taking any more appointments until after April 17. I’m going to take a vacation first,” Lewis joked.

Terry and Cathy Conley, too, saw heavier customer flows during the week before the deadline. The Conleys own Expresstax, which has two locations in Valdosta. Terry offered comments from his office at 1412 Baytree Road Thursday.

“It’s picking up right now,” Conley said. “Our appointment book if filling up fast with last minute filers. I have appointments tomorrow (Friday, April 13) every hour.”

The big chain tax preparation companies also were seeing an increase in traffic. Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, which has six offices in Valdosta, including two at area Wal-Mart stores, was enjoying a busier week at all six locations, Area Manager Lillie Lopez said.

“It’s normal to get busier right before deadline, and it’s certainly picking up,” Lopez said. “Our doors are wide open. We’re ready for everybody.”



Why the deadline is Tuesday, April 17

The typical horde of last-minute taxpayers who choose each year to wait until the last possible deadline to file their federal and state income tax returns are getting just a bit of an extra break this year on the usual April 15th deadline, thanks to a holiday observed in the District of Columbia on Monday, April 16.

By federal law, if the annual April 15 deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the tax filing deadline normally would then be shifted to the next business day — in this case, Monday, April 16.

However, because Monday, April 16, is Emancipation Day, a legal holiday in the District of Columbia, the income tax filing deadline was shifted to Tuesday, April 17.

Some taxpayers may have tax forms and IRS documents that list the filing deadline as Monday, April 16. Not to worry. The IRS sent those forms out before it realized that the Emancipation Day holiday in Washington D.C. intersected with what at first was thought would be the tax filing deadline, a memo on the www.IRS.gov Web site explains.

Those who haven’t filed their returns yet officially have until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, to get those returns in the mail. However, local post offices have the option to set deadlines for getting a deadline day postmark, which is required by the IRS to prove an on-time filing.

And from checking all local post offices from Lake Park to Moody Air Force Base, will have to get those returns to their local post offices far earlier than 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, April 17.

The U.S. Post Office offered the following information for tax deadline filers who plan to mail their returns on April 17: Each local post office location, its retail office hours planned for April 17, and the last time a person can mail a return on April 17 and still receive an April 17 postmark:

• Zip code 31601, downtown Valdosta post office at 401 N. Patterson St. On April 17, the retail office will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The latest time to mail an income tax return at this location and receive an April 17 post mark will be 5:30 p.m.

• Zip code 31601, Clyattville. The Clyattville contract postal unit at 5360 Madison Hwy. on April 17 will have normal retail office hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The latest time to mail a tax return at the Clyattville post office and receive an April 17 postmark is 5 p.m.

• Zip code 31602, Northside post office at 3698 Inner Perimeter Rd. On April 17, the retail office hours will be 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The latest time to mail an income tax return and still receive an April 17 post mark is 6:30 p.m.

• Zip code 31699, Moody Air Force Base, 5293 Schrader St., on the base. The retail office hours on April 17 will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The latest time to mail a tax return and still receive an April 17 post mark is 4 p.m.

• Zip code 31636, Lake Park, 687 Lakes Blvd. The retail office hours on April 17 will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The latest time to mail a tax return and still receive an April 17 post mark is 5:45 p.m.

The U.S. Post Office does not give tax advice and suggests calling the IRS at 800-829-1040 or visiting the agency’s web site at www.irs.gov. Also, tax forms are not available at post offices.



Observations and tips from the pros

So they’ve waited until the last minute to file income taxes.

So what’s up with the late filers?

“Many they think they owe money, so they think that by waiting until the last minute to file, it helps them. But it doesn’t,” Jackson Hewitt’s Lillie Lopez said. “Even if you file an extension, the payment is due April 17. An extension will extend your time to file, which eliminates your ‘failure to pay’ penalty. If a person is unsure how much they should pay, we advise them to pay the amount they paid last year based on the previous year’s income.”

Tax preparers can estimate for you how much you should pay if you don’t have all your paperwork, Janet Lewis Douglass of Lewis Tax Service concurred.

“If you know you owe, or if you know you made more money, you should send in a payment for an estimated amount,” Lewis said. “If you pay in too much, you’ll get a refund. If you don’t pay in enough, you’ll get a penalty plus interest. Estimates are based on last year’s returns. If you owed $5,000 last year, we try to get them to pay that much this year.”

Terry Conley of Expresstax says the estimated tax payment should be mailed in with the application for the filing extension.

“It doesn’t preclude having to pay penalties if you file an extension,” Conley said. “Penalties depend on the individual’s situation and the amount owed. For example, I had one customer who owed $6,000 or $7,000, and his penalties were $300 or $400.”

Conley and Lewis said their offices do a lot of tax work for local small businesses. Some of those clients may be better off filing quarterly estimated taxes to avoid being nailed with a big tax bill at year’s end, Conley said.

“You get a small business owner who made money all year, but made more than they thought they wouldn’t,” Conley said. “The best way to beat that is to file quarterly taxes and estimate your taxes. We can run a (software) program for you that tells you what you will owe next year if you make the same money, what to pay quarterly, and we provide you the vouchers for sending in your payments.”

Jackson-Hewitt’s Lopez suggested that individual taxpayers who had to pay in extra income tax this year should check their W-4 form to make sure they’re having enough taxes taken out during the year so they won’t have to pay in next year.

“And even if you don’t know whether something might be a deduction or not, bring that paperwork with you to show your tax preparer,” Lopez said.





TAX TIPS

• E-file, or file electronically if possible. E-filing is fast and accurate and you get confirmation that the IRS has received your return.

• Use the pre-printed label if you are filing a paper return. It speeds up the processing of your return.

• Double-check all names and Social Security numbers for yourself, your spouse and dependents. Incorrect or missing SSNs may result in disallowance of dependents, Child Care Credit, or Earned Income Tax Credit and could delay any refund.

• Recheck all math entries and amounts pulled from the tax tables or Earned Income Tax Credit tables.

• Don’t forget to sign the return. For a joint return, both spouses must sign.

— Source: Mark S. Green, media relations specialist, Georgia and Mississippi, IRS.